Mobile vending booth

ABSTRACT

A mobile vending booth of the sort having a vending opening on at least one long-side and having a chassis floor, is equipped with at least one roller shutter for shutting off at least the vending opening. Furthermore, there is a roller shutter guideframe able to be pushed slippingly into the booth and for making it broader for an operation condition, the guideframe running along the full length of the long-side of the booth and being able to be pulled out.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

The invention is with respect to a mobile vending booth with a vendingopening at at least one long-side and with a chassis floor.

(2) Past designs

In a design for a vending booth of this sort, the vending openings weredesigned for being shut up by a number of shutter doors able to befolded upwards into a position in which they were used as a roof. Inthis respect a complex system was needed for effecting the upwardfolding and downward folding of the doors. Furthermore, in the folded upposition such doors only keep rain and strong sunlight from personsusing the vending booth and are, however, of no use for keeping suchpersons dry when there is rain and strong winds.

In a further suggestion for such a vending booth in addition to theupwardly folding shutter doors, side floors, able to be foldeddownwards, were present, without, however, the system having anythingfor keeping persons dry when rain is falling. Although in this earliersuggestion the vending of goods from all sides of the booth waspossible, it took up much space so that, clearly, its use would not bepossible where space is limited.

Short Outline of the Invention

One object of the invention is that of making such a better constructionof mobile vending booths, that is to say vending booths able to be movedfrom place to place, that they may readily be used even where space islimited and may be readily transported. Furthermore, shutting up theunit for transport and opening again for vending purposes is to besimpler.

For achieving these and other objects the mobile vending booth of theinvention has at least one roller shutter for shutting at least thevending opening and has at least one roller shutter guideframe, which isslidingly supported within the vending booth and is able to be pulledout for making the vending booth broader, as necessary for vending,along one full long-side of the vending booth.

In my invention the vending booth does not make use of shutter doorsneeding much space but of a roller shutter which may be much more simplyworked. When it is not being used and for transport the vending boothmay be made very much narrower by pushing in the guideframe so that itmay even be pushed through narrow spaces in department stores and whennot being used at all takes up little space.

Useful developments of the invention are to be seen from the dependentclaims.

In one form of the invention, the length of the vending booth may bechanged as may be desired to be in line with operation conditions bysimply joining together vending booths of the same sort in a line in thenecessary number.

In another form of the invention, vending from the booth may furthermoretake place from the long-side, at which the guideframe has been pulledout. The roller shutter is, in this respect, used at the same time as aroof over a folding down side floor. On pushing the guideframe in again,the roller shutter is rolled up into roller shutter boxes.

In the form of the invention as claimed in claim 14, it is, for example,possible for only one half of the vending booth to be opened while theother half is shut off by the pulled down roller shutter, so that theyshut off, all-weather inner space is produced in front of the vendingopening.

In still another form of the invention, behind each vending openingthere are counter structures making it possible for the vending booth tobe used with the least possible number of workers, as a snack vendingbooth in which food and drinks may be prepared.

In another form of the invention, the guideframe has windows on the twoends (or, in place of the windows, it would be possible to have foldingdoors) so that persons who are in front of the vending booth, are nottroubled by even the worst weather conditions. In another form of theinvention, the side door does not have to be folded upwards on stoppinguse of the vending booth and it is enough for the roller shutter to bepulled down as far as it will go for shutting the booth. In this respectoperation of the booth is very much simpler than past constructions ofsuch booths.

In yet another form of the invention, the vending booth is soconstructed that the vending of goods is readily possible on the twolong-sides of the booth.

LIST OF FIGURES

A number of preferred embodiments of the mobile vending booth, that isto say a vending booth able to be moved from place to place, having theteachings of my invention, will now be made clear in detail using thefigures.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a first form of the mobile vending booth in theworking condition.

FIG. 2 is a view of the vending booth of FIG. 1 from the front.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view on the line III--III through the booth ofFIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view through the vending booth on the line IV--IVof FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view, on the same lines as in FIG. 4, runningthrough the vending booth in the shut-off condition.

FIGS. 6a to 6c make clear different ways of putting together vendingbooths.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view through a further form of the vending boothof my invention on the line VII--VII of FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the vending booth of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a view of the vending booth looking in the direction of arrowA in FIG. 8.

FIGS. 10 to 12 are views of a further form of the vending booth, that isto say opened on both sides, opened on one side and shut on the twosides.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1 to 6 are views of a first mobile vending booth, that is to say avending booth able to be moved from place to place, generallynumbered 1. The vending booth 1 is made up of two housing parts 2 and 3,which are able to be pushed telescopingly the one into the other andwhich in FIGS. 1 and 4 are to be seen in the pulled-out condition(operation or working condition), while in FIG. 5 they are to be seen inthe pushed-in conditon (that is to say the overnight or transportcondition).

The housing part 1 has the form of a box-like housing which isrectangular in a horizontal sectional view and which at the front sidehas a vending opening 4 and at its two ends has windows 5 ofbrown-shaded safety glass, while at its back 6 it is open. The housingpart 2 has a strongly made chassis floor 7, a front board 8 and sidewalls 9, which are made of all-weather plastics-coated chip boardingstretching upwards towards the vending opening as far as a rest 10 ofthe same material. The housing part 2 has in this part of it counterstructures 11, such as freezing, heating and/or grilling units. In placeof this, however, it may furthermore have shelvings for ready-packedmeals which are to be vended.

The part of the housing part 2 above the rest 10 is made of a strongmetal frame, which is placed running round it on all sides and hassupports (or mounts) 13 for window material 5. The supports 13 are, aswell, in the form of all-weather, plastics-coated chip boarding with thenecessary cutouts for the window material or glass. Over the rest 10 andthe counter structures 11 there is, lastly, glass vending cupboard 14 asis normally used in such vending booths.

At the inner ends of the vending booth 1, there are U-rails 15,stretching over the full height of the vending booth and over the fulldepth of the housing part 2, for guiding a roller shutter 16. Rails 15are fixed in position. The operation condition of the vending booth isto be seen in FIG. 4, in which the roller shutter 16 is pushed up whilein FIG. 5, in the shut condition of the booth, the roller shutter 16 ispulled down.

The other housing part 3 is generally made up of a guideframe 17 for theroller shutter 16, a back wall 18 fixedly joined to it and made ofall-weather plastics-coated chip boarding and a floor 19 completing theguideframe 17, which, at the ends of the vending booth, has U-rails 20,which near the roof part of the vending booth may be pushed horizontallytelescopingly into the U-rails 15 and are designed stretching downwardsfrom the roof at the back side of the vending booth to such a levelthat, when the vending booth is opened, the roller shutter 16 may bepushed so far upwards that the vending opening 4 is completely cleared(see FIG. 4). When the vending booth is shut up (FIG. 5), the rollershutter 16 shuts not only the vending opening 4, but furthermore thepart over the back wall 18.

The floor 19 is placed at a level somewhat lower than the chassis floor7, so that on shutting up the vending booth it is moved under thechassis floor 7 and, lastly, goes into the position of FIG. 5. In thisposition the vending booth is shut on all sides and is only in need of asmall amount of space and, furthermore, it may be transported in thiscondition readily through narrow openings, for example in buildings usedfor sporting purposes and department stores.

Not only the chassis floor 7, but furthermore the floor 19 of thehousing part 3 have at the lower side four ball-bearinged rollers 21with rubber tires ("ball rollers"). For this reason the vending boothmay be very readily moved from place to place.

In the housing part 3 at the back wall 18 there is a folding seat 22articulated, which, before the housing parts 2 and 3 are pushedtogether, is folded up against the back wall 18.

At at least one end of the vending booth 1 there is a folding door 23,able to be turned through 180° (see FIG. 3), which in the operationcondition of the vending booth is in front of the inlet opening of thebooth (FIG. 1) and before shutting up the vending booth is foldedagainst the side wall 9, as will be seen marked by the arrow in FIG. 3on the right. A further such folding door is present at the end of thevending booth which is on the left in FIG. 3.

The vending booth 1 does not, at its ends, have any projecting parts, sothat it may readily be joined up with further vending booths 1' (FIG.6b) and 1" (FIG. 6c) of the same sort. For lining up the vending booths,the folding doors 23 are folded back against the side walls 9, somethingwhich may readily be seen from FIGS. 6b and 6c. For general use thevending booth to be seen in FIG. 6a will, for example, be 2 meters long,so that the line-up to be seen in FIG. 6c will, in all, be 6 meterslong. The single vending booths may in the system of FIGS. 6b and 6c beconnected by releasable coupling parts (not shown) in the area of theside walls 9 and the ends of the frame 12 above the side walls 9, sothat the booth may be kept joined together overnight. It is then onlynecessary for the guideframes 17 to be pushed into their vending boothand for the separate roller shutters 16 to be shut and locked.

The vending booth 1 has a 220 to 380 V line connection for theelectrical apparatus in it and may, for this reason, be coupled with anyelectrical outlet of the necessary sort. For this reason, it may readilybe used in buildings for sporting purposes, in fairs, exhibitions andfestivals and, furthermore, as a separate vending booth withindepartment stores and outdoors. By installation of the necessary counterstructures, it may be adapted to all purposes (for vending snacks, hotand cold drinks, producing and/or vending of icecream and ofready-packed goods etc.).

A further form of my mobile vending booth is to be seen in FIGS. 7 to12.

This second form of the mobile vending booth has more space and forgeneral use is made greater in size than the first form of my inventionand is, more specially, designed for use outdoors.

The vending booth, generally numbered 101, is made up a single-piecehousing (unlike the two-piece vending booth 1) and is generallyconstructed like a four-wheel camping trailer with a chassis 132, andend inlet door 133 and a roof ventilating unit 134. On the twolong-sides the vending booth 101 has one vending opening 104 and withinthe booth on a chassis floor 107 counter structures 111 are present, inthe case of which it may be a question of the same structures as used inthe first form of my invention of which an account has been given.Behind the vending opening over the counter structures, glass cupboards114 are placed.

Near the roof of the vending booth 101 U-rails 115 are fixed inposition. The booth 101 has at the two long-sides guideframes 117 ofU-rails 120, which are fixedly joined together by cross-beams 135. Theguideframes 117 are, in the form of my invention to be seen in thefigures, made with windows 105, which are fixedly joined with theguideframes. The U-rails 115 extend horizontally out from the roof partof the vending booth 101, are then bent downwards and go over thecomplete height of the vending booth in a vertical direction. At theroof, in the long-direction of the vending booth 101, two roller shutterboxes 136 are present, which each have a shaft on which the rollershutter 116 may be freely turned on rolling up, or it may have a shaftwith a hand-driving system for rolling up the shutter 116.

On each long-side of the vending booth, an upwardly folding safe floor137 is hinged. These floors may be folded upwards through 90°, so thatthey come into positions resting against the long-walls 108 of thevending booth.

If the vending booth in the shut-up condition, to be seen in FIG. 12, isto be got ready for use, the two guideframes 117 on the two long-sidesare pulled down into position of FIG. 8 from the inside of the vendingbooth. When this is done, the windowed ends of the guideframes 117 areslipped out of their spaces 138, while the U-rails 120 of theguideframes are slipped out of the fixed-position U-rails 115, in whichthey are telescopingly guided. Before the pulling out of the guideframes117 the roller shutters 116 are best pushed upwards, that is to sayrolled up in the roller shutter boxes 136. After pulling out theguideframes 117, the floors 137 are folded downwards and, at the sametime, feet 139 are folded downwards for supporting the floors 137 on theearth.

The roller shutters 116 are, in each case, separated in the middle intotwo parts, so that, in case of need, or when the weather is poor, onlyone half of the vending booth has to be opened, this being made clear inFIG. 9. At their ends, which are near together, the two roller shutters116 are guided, at each long-side of the vending booth 101, in a doubleU-rail 140, which, at its lower end, is, as well, fixedly joined to thecross-rail 135 and at the top near the roof has its own telescopingguide, not shown.

Over each vending opening 104, there is in the roof of the vending booth101 an upwardly folding door 143 having on it the name of a company oran advertisement. In the operation condition (see FIG. 8) it is turnedupwards into an upright position, while overnight or in the transportcondition of the vending booth, it is folded downwards.

The end walls, having windows 105, of the guideframe may have foldingdoors in place of the window material, so that even when the guideframes117 are pulled out and the roller shutters 116 are let down (for examplewhen the weather is poor or the temperature is very low), customers areable to get into the space in front of the vending openings 104.

The vending booth 101 has a trailer connection 144 at the end with theinlet door 133. The connection 144 has a step 141 placed on it, makingit easier for persons working the booth to get into the inside of it.

The vending booth 101 is, as the reader will readily be able to see fromFIGS. 7 and 8, made with full symmetry about an upright plane running inthe long-direction (although the counter structures 111 may not havesuch symmetry). With this construction vending from the two long-sidesof the booth is possible, one side being for example facing a street,while the other is facing a garden. In the form of my invention to beseen here, the counter structures 111 are made up of a hot counter 111awith a chicken infrared grill 111b and a cash desk 111c on the onelong-side while on the other side I have a cold counter 111a' with awashing up unit 111d and a cash desk 111c'. The chassis floor 107 istiled on the inner side.

The chassis 132 has conventionally four wheels with pneumatic tires. Thevending booth 101 itself is generally of light alloy. The strips of theroller shutters are, as well, made of light alloy, this being true ofthe guideframes as well. The vending booth 101 is, like the first formof my invention, provided with a 220/380 V electricity connection cableso that it may be coupled with any electrical outlet of the right sort.

FIGS. 10 to 12 are views of different conditions of the vending booth101. In FIG. 10 the two guideframes 117 are pulled out so that vendingmay take place, as desired, on one long-side or on the two long sides.In FIG. 9 on the left, the shut condition of the roller shutter 116 isto be seen with the open condition on the right hand side. Overnight thetwo roller shutters 116 are shut. In FIG. 11 the condition of thevending booth is to be seen when vending is only to take place from oneside. The right guideframe is in this case not pulled out. The transportcondition is to be seen in FIG. 12, in which the guideframes are notpulled out and all roller shutters are let down. The length of eachroller shutter is such that the vending booth may be completely shut onits long-side, not only when the guideframe 117 is pulled out, butfurthermore when it is not pulled out.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are:
 1. A mobile vending booth with a vendingopening at at least one long-side and with a chassis floor,characterised by at least one roller shutter for shutting at least thevending opening and by at least one roller shutter guideframe, which isslidingly supported within the vending booth and is able to be pulledout for making the vending booth broader, as necessary for vending,along one full long-side of the vending booth.
 2. A vending booth asclaimed in claim 1, characterised in that the roller shutter is guidedat the inner ends of the vending booth in fixedly placed U-rails, inwhich at the roof further U-rails of the guideframe may betelescopically moved.
 3. A vending booth as claimed in claim 2,characterised in that the U-rails of the guideframe extend along thelong-side, far from the vending opening, of the vending booth verticallyin a downward direction from the roof part.
 4. A vending booth asclaimed in claim 3, characterised in that on the guideframe on thelong-side, far from the vending opening, of the vending booth there is aback wall which is fixed in position stopping short of the full heightof the roof and in that the length of the roller shutter is such that,when the guideframe is not pulled out, it shuts the vending opening andthe back side of the vending booth, while, when the guideframe is pulledout, the vending opening is cleared by the roller shutter.
 5. A vendingbooth as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that theguideframe has a fixed floor, which, when the guideframe is not pulledout, is under the chassis floor of the vending booth, and when theguideframe is pulled out, projects from the chassis floor and extendssubstantially in line therewith.
 6. A vending booth as claimed in claim5, characterised in that the chassis floor and the floor of theguideframe are each supported by way of ball rollers on the earth.
 7. Avending booth as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 4, characterised inthat at at least one end of the vending booth there is a folding doorable to be turned through 180°.
 8. A vending booth as claimed in anyoneof claims 1 to 4, characterised in that it may be made longer by thejoining up at its end of further vending booths of similar construction.9. A vending booth as claimed in claim 4, characterised in that at theinner side of the back wall a folding seat is hinged.
 10. A vendingbooth as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that acounter system, is placed behind the vending opening, and has counterstructures for the vending and/or preparing of cold and/or hot food anddrinks.
 11. A vending booth as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 4,characterised by a rest running under the vending opening along thelong-side and the two ends of the booth.
 12. A vending booth as claimedin claim 11, characterised in that its ends have windows above the rest.13. A vending booth as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, characterised byat least one roller shutter box placed near the roof between the twofixedly positioned U-rails and extending over the breadth of the rollershutter, the roller shutter box having a shaft for rolling up the rollershutter.
 14. A vending booth as claimed in claim 13, characterised inthat at least two roller shutter boxes are placed one after the other inthe long-direction so that two roller shutters may be separatelyoperated in front of each vending opening.
 15. A vending booth asclaimed in claim 13, characterised in that down at each long-side havinga vending opening there is a side floor articulated so that it may befolded upwards.
 16. A vending booth as claimed in claim 13,characterised by a counter system, placed behind each vending opening,having counter structures for the vending and/or preparing of coldand/or hot food and drinks.
 17. A vending booth as claimed in claim 13,characterised in that in the roof above each vending opening there is anupwardly folding door.
 18. A vending booth as claimed in claim 13,characterised in that its chassis floor is placed on a camping trailerchassis.
 19. A vending booth as claimed in claim 15, characterised inthat the U-rails of the guideframe extend each to the level of the hingeshaft of the side floor and at this position the U-rails are fixedlyjoined together by cross-beams.
 20. A vending booth as claimed in claim15, characterised in that the side floor is able to be supported on theearth by means of folding feet.
 21. A vending booth as claimed in claim15, characterised in that the guideframe is paned at the two ends of thebooth.
 22. A vending booth as claimed in claim 13, characterised in thatthe length of each roller shutter is such that the vending booth at itslong-side may be completely shut off both when the guideframe is pulledout and when it is not pulled out.
 23. A vending booth as claimed inclaim 13, characterised in that it is mirror-inverted symmetrical withrespect to its vertical longitudinal center plane.